Seahawks-Niners promises to be fiercely contested - NBC Sports

Pete Carroll and Jim Harbaugh have been battling long before they made their way to Seattle and San Francisco, respectively.

The two have a rivalry dating back to some epic battles between Carroll's Southern Cal Trojans and Harbaugh's Stanford Cardinal. Now battling for the NFC West, this has turned into a passionate rivalry thanks to the skippers of these teams and thanks to the fact both are Super Bowl contenders.

Checking the betting numbers from the NFL trends database, San Francisco has covered in Week 2 the past seven years, and roll in having covered 7 of 8 in September. Meanwhile, Seattle rolls into its home opener on winning against-the-spread streaks of 10-1 against winning teams, 19-7 against the NFC, and 24-9 overall.

San Francisco comes to the Pacific Northwest after outracing the Green Bay Packers in its home opener, while the Seahawks return home after surviving a scare in Carolina.

And while all eyes will be on quarterbacks Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson, this might be one of those games in which the defense plays a pivotal role. Which stop unit will make the bigger play?

Both defenses will have their hands full. Kaepernick picked up where he left off last season, completing 27 of 39 pass attempts for a career-high 412 yards and three touchdown passes in a 34-28 victory over Green Bay.

He made San Fran's upper brass look brilliant for acquiring wideout Anquan Boldin, who had 13 catches for 208 yards and a touchdown. For Seattle, though the 'Hawks won by a mediocre score of 12-7 over the Panthers, Wilson was efficient, going 25 for 33 for 320 yards and a touchdown.

The Seahawks ranked first in the NFL in points allowed in 2012, and fourth in yards allowed. They finished Week 1 with the fifth-best overall defense, allowing the Panthers to accumulate 253 yards.

The Niners, on the other hand, currently have the 22nd ranked stop unit after the Packers tallied 385 yards. Of course, there's a big difference between the Panthers and Packers, so there's some who might say the 49ers might be a bit more battle-tested for this one.